TournamenT noTes as of January 18, 2012 AUDI PEMBROKE PINES 10K FUTURES AT MIDTOWN WESTON WESTON, FL • JANUARY 20-29 USTA PRO CIRCUIT RETURNS TO WESTON TournamenT InFormaTIon The Audi Pembroke Pines 10K Futures at Midtown Weston returns to Weston for the Site: Midtown Athletic Club second consecutive year and third year Michael Baz Weston, Fla. overall; Weston also hosted an event in Website: procircuit.usta.com 1999. It is the third of four consecutive clay-court USTA Pro Circuit men’s Futures, Facebook: Midtown Athletic Club in Weston, FL all of which will be held in Florida. In all, there are 10 Futures scheduled to be held in Qualifying Draw Begins: Friday, January 20 Florida in 2012, all on clay. The USTA Pro Main Draw Begins: Tuesday, January 24 Circuit is scheduled to hold a record 31 clay-court tournaments this year. Main Draw: 32 Singles / 16 Doubles Surface: Clay / Outdoor On Saturday, January 28, the tournament will host a Kids’ Day that features 10 and Prize Money: $10,000 Under Tennis. 10 and Under Tennis is a Tournament Director: national initiative created to develop young Ismael Rosales, (954) 647-6829 players. It uses scaled-down equipment and [email protected] smaller courts to better allow kids to rally Former University of Florida standout Gregory and play the game. On January 1, the rules Ouellette won the bronze medal in doubles at Tournament Press Contact: of tennis officially changed in the United the 2011 Pan Am Games. Maury Bozman, (954) 384-2582, x144 States to require that 10 and Under Tennis [email protected] tournaments be played utilizing the smaller, bronze medal in men’s doubles at the 2011 lighter racquets and lower-bouncing balls on USTA Communications Contacts: Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico; smaller courts. Amanda Korba, (914) 697-2219, [email protected] and Andrea Collarini, a native New Yorker Eric Schuster, (914) 696-7260, [email protected] who was raised in Argentina and reached the Expected in the main draw in Weston are five- boys’ singles final at the 2010 French Open. time University of Florida All-American Gregory Collarini trains at the USTA Training Center- Ouellette of Ormond Beach, Fla., the highest- PrIze money / PoInTs Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. ranked American in the field, who captured the SINGLES: Prize Money Ranking Points Winner $1,300 17 Also scheduled to compete is Brian Baker, Runner-up $900 9 who returned to professional tennis in 2011 Semifinalist $480 5 after a three-year injury hiatus, capturing the Quarterfinalist $290 2 Michael Baz $10,000 Futures in Pittsburgh as a qualifier Round of 16 $200 1 in his first tournament back. Baker was a Round of 32 $117.50 - standout junior, peaking at No. 2 in the ITF DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) World Junior Rankings in 2003 after reaching Winner $630 the boys’ singles final at the French Open and Runner-up $330 the quarterfinals of the juniors at the US Open Semifinalist $260 and Wimbledon. Quarterfinalist $180 Round of 16 $0 Former college standouts expected in the main draw include: Daniel Kosakowski, who turned pro in 2011 following his freshman CommunITy eVenTs year at UCLA; and Rhyne Williams, a former University of Tennessee All-American and Saturday, January 28 Kids’ Day featuring 10 and Under Tennis Andrea Collarini reached the boys’ singles final at the 2010 French Open and trains at the USTA Training Center-Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. TournamenT noTes the 2011 NCAA singles runner-up, who has since turned pro. Both Dadamo, who won the 2011 NCAA doubles title for Texas A&M; players won their first USTA Pro Circuit singles titles last year. Tennys Sandgren, named after the sport and a 2011 All-American at the University of Tennessee who turned professional after winning Players expected to compete in qualifying include: Bjorn Fratangelo, consecutive USTA Pro Circuit Futures in Illinois last year; Michael who in 2011 became the first American to win the boys’ singles title Shabaz, a former standout for the University of Virginia who was a at the French Open since John McEnroe in 1977; Sekou Bangoura, two-time NCAA doubles champion (earning a doubles main draw wild who was named a doubles All-American during his sophomore year card into the US Open in 2009 and 2010); and 18-year-old Dennis at the University of Florida after reaching the semifinals of the 2011 Novikov of Boca Raton, Fla., who reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, and who is playing pro events this winter; Jeff 2010 US Open junior tournament. WESTON PAST WINNERS Singles Doubles Year Winner Runner-Up Year Winner 2011 Phillip Simmonds (USA) Jack Sock (USA) 2011 Soong-Jae Cho (KOR) / Hyun-Joon Kim (KOR) 1999 Michael Russell (USA) Hugo Armando (USA) 1999 Michael Jessup (USA) / Lee Pearson (AUS) TournamenT noTes USTA PRO CIRCUIT 10 AND UNDER TENNIS With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from On January 1, the USTA announced that the rules of tennis $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for have officially changed and require that 10 and Under Tennis aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its tournaments be played utilizing smaller, lighter racquets Pro Circuit 33 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it and lower-bouncing balls on smaller courts. This rule change has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering nearly $3 million signifies the emergence of 10 and Under Tennis as an integral in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities part of the development of young players. The scaled-down nationwide. Mardy Fish, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Caroline Wozniacki, James Blake, Li Na and equipment and smaller courts better allow kids to rally and Andy Murray are among today’s top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. play the game earlier in their development, and increase the likelihood they will return to the court and continue to More recently, the USTA Pro Circuit improve while having fun doing so. For more information, visit helped launch the careers of two young Ryan Harrison www.10andundertennis.com. Americans—Christina McHale and Ryan Harrison. McHale reached the quarterfinals or better at five USTA Pro Circuit events in NJTL 2010 and climbed more than 100 spots in the WTA rankings that year. Buoyed by those Cities across the country participate in the USTA/National Junior results, she began to compete regularly Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network, a nationwide network of on the WTA tour in 2011 and became the community tennis organizations seeking to develop the character youngest player in the world’s Top 50 after of young people through both tennis and education. Founded defeating No. 8 seed Marion Bartoli en route by Arthur Ashe in 1969, more than 650 registered chapters/ to the third round of the US Open. Three Anthony Behar programs exist throughout the nation with more than 250,000 weeks prior, she upset world No. 1 Wozniacki participants ages 6-18, making NJTL one of the USTA’s largest at the US Open Series event in Cincinnati. community-based initiatives. McHale also was named to the U.S. Fed Cup team for the World Group Playoff in April 2011. Harrison began 2011 by winning US OPEN NATIONAL PlayoffS the singles and doubles titles at the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in Honolulu and subsequently The USTA launched the US Open reached the round of 16 in Indian Wells, where he upset three players ranked in the Top 50. Harrison National Playoffs in 2010, making cracked the Top 100 for the first time in summer 2011—becoming one of just two teenage males in the the US Open “open” to anyone age Top 100—after reaching back-to-back semifinals at the US Open Series events in Atlanta and Los Angeles. 14+ and of all skill levels. Last year, He also played in the main draw of all four Grand Slam events last year, pushing world No. 5 David Ferrer to more than 1,200 players competed in five sets in the second round at Wimbledon. 16 Sectional Qualifying Tournaments nationwide for a 2011 US Open PLAYER DEVELOPMENT Qualifying Tournament wild card. A mixed doubles element was also added, where the winning team won a main draw mixed The USTA Player Development program identifies and develops the next generation of American champions doubles wild card. Blake Strode, 24, of St. Louis, defended his US by surrounding the top junior players and young pros with the resources, facilities and coaching they need Open National Playoffs men’s title in 2011 and Robin Anderson, to reach their maximum potential. The Player Development program is based at the USTA Training Center 18, of Matawan, NJ, won the women’s wild card. David Martin and Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., and also utilizes Training Centers in Carson, Calif., and Flushing, N.Y., as Christina Fusano won the mixed doubles tournament. Registration well as a series of Certified Regional Training Centers located throughout the continental United States. for the 2012 US Open National Playoffs opens on March 15..